Vol. 3, Issue 08 | February 23, 2017

Three Things This Week

1. The Discovery

What it is: A chilling new movie coming to Netflix in March about a world where the afterlife has been scientifically proven, and millions of people commit suicide in order to get there.

Why it's important: What we believe about the future impacts how we live in the present. As Christians, the belief in life after death doesn’t diminish the importance of our lives here and now; it actually makes them more significant. “What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it.” To believe in life after death means to believe that God is already at work in our world renewing all things, and that He is inviting us to play our part in bringing His Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.

2. Think a Little Less

What it is: A song by country artist Michael Ray that’s working its way up the charts (currently #7 in Country music and #56 on the Hot 100) and gaining lots of airplay.

Why it's bad: As the title suggests, this bro country song encourages women to stop thinking, listen solely to their urges, ignore wise warnings, and become another notch in a man’s belt with lyrics like, “We know better than leaving here together...Why even bother looking at the reasons not to? Maybe we ought to kiss a little more, think a little less.” The song offers a great conversation to have with both our sons and daughters about the emptiness found in casual sexual encounters, as well as the ability to value the opposite sex for much more than their ability to satisfy our bodily desires.

3. Axis Is Hiring!

What it is: Know a college grad who has leadership experience, enjoys traveling, and is passionate about helping the next generation have lifelong faith in Jesus? If so, encourage him/her to apply to be an Axis Team Director.

Why it's awesome: Our Team Directors have the unique opportunity to lead a team of interns while speaking to students, teachers, and parents all over the country and helping the next generation have lasting faith by challenging them to think deeply about media, technology, worldviews, and their own faith. The position involves a year-long commitment, starting in May 2017, and gives them the opportunity to live in vibrant Colorado Springs, CO. Email stephanie@axis.org for more info!

Join us for our next parent webinar: http://axis.org/webinar-registration

Girls Should “Be Silent”

In a pep talk to middle schoolers in Florida, controversial NFL quarterback Jameis Winston said “boys should be strong” while girls “should be silent, polite, and gentle.” Interesting comments from a guy with a history of sexual assault allegations. One fifth-grade girl looked at her teacher and said, “I’m strong, too!”

Winston was simply verbalizing an age-old patriarchal stereotype that even Christians struggle to recognize. Boys are taught that manhood equates to strength and violence. Girls are told that femininity means passivity and compliance. But is this healthy or even Christ-like? Think of Esther, Jael, Abigail, Deborah, Mary, or the nameless women who dared to be present at Jesus’ crucifixion as His disciples hid in fear. These were strong women to be reckoned with!

Does the implicit glass ceiling culture places on our daughter’s allow them to be fully human? If not, what is the alternative?

In the ancient world, patriarchy was a cultural norm that Jesus redefined and redeemed. He taught women and spoke to them in public. Women were His friends and companions. He sent women to be apostles to the Apostles. “It is women who anointed Him, and women who proclaimed Him, and women who prepared Him for burial…It was women, in fact, whom Jesus put at the very center of the only two mysteries of the faith - the Incarnation and Resurrection.” It was a woman, after all, who turned our God into flesh.

Our sons and our daughters are both made in the very image of God. Ask your daughter if she ever feels like a second-class citizen at school, church, or at home. If she answers yes, find out why, then work together to change it.

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